AMPED™ FEATURED ALBUM OF THE WEEK: GIN BLOSSOMS/MIXED REALITY

Alt-Rockers Gin Blossoms celebrate their 31st Anniversary this year. While they achieved their commercial breakthrough in 1992, the band originally formed in Tempe, Arizona five years earlier. However, it wasn’t until the following year that the band truly gelled with the addition of guitarist Robin Wilson, who would quickly assume the role of the band’s lead vocalist. The band’s independently-released debut album, DUSTED (1989), brought the band plenty of local attention, which eventually lead to their major label deal with A&M Records. By 1992, the band’s NEW MISERABLE EXPERIENCE album was a smash hit – fueled by the massively successful “Hey Jealousy” single – and their guitarist and main songwriter Doug Hopkins was out of the band (he would eventually take his own life). More successful singles followed – including “Found Out About You” and “Til I Hear It From You” – as well as the critically-acclaimed album CONGRATULATIONS… I’M SORRY (1996). The band ground to a halt in early 1997 but reformed in 2001. They released two additional albums – MAJOR LODGE VICTORY (2006) and NO CHOCOLATE CAKE (2010) – and have toured frequently ever since. […]

By | June 15th, 2018|News|Comments Off on AMPED™ FEATURED ALBUM OF THE WEEK: GIN BLOSSOMS/MIXED REALITY

AMPED™ FEATURED ALBUM OF THE WEEK: MORCHEEBA/BLAZE AWAY

One of the most attractive features of the Trip Hop genre was it’s haunting quality. While closely associated with the Downtempo and Chill movements, the best Trip Hop provided beauty with an unsettling edge. Listening to Trip Hop should be like walking into an ancient mansion – you are wrapped in beauty but you can feel the presence of something else. The Chill is replaced by chills. And THAT is what makes Trip Hop special. And Morcheeba continues to be the genre’s most consistent and beloved bands – they put the ‘trip’ in Trip Hop. […]

By | June 1st, 2018|News|Comments Off on AMPED™ FEATURED ALBUM OF THE WEEK: MORCHEEBA/BLAZE AWAY

AMPED™ FEATURED ALBUM OF THE WEEK: THE MYSTERY OF THE BULGARIAN VOICES/BOOCHEEMISH

While many musicians can wring emotion out of their instrumental weapon of choice, there’s no denying that the most emotional instrument of all is the human voice. The song’s melody and lyrics mean nothing if the voice does not connect with the listener. A notable example would be Gospel Music – the soaring voices of a church choir can melt the heart of the most hardened atheist. However, the best example belongs to The Mystery Of The Bulgarian Voices, a female choir that has mastered the art of the voice… and I don’t use the word ‘art’ lightly here. The sounds these voices make are soul-stirring and heartbreaking in equal measures. […]

By | May 25th, 2018|News|Comments Off on AMPED™ FEATURED ALBUM OF THE WEEK: THE MYSTERY OF THE BULGARIAN VOICES/BOOCHEEMISH

BART & THE BEDAZZLED’s Blue Motel reviewed!

Bear with me here… Music can so often dictate my emotions.  It can literally transport me from one mood to another in the blink of a chord change. And this brings me to something that I call ‘3 A.M. Music’. How would I describe this style of music? Well, imagine that melancholy feeling you get when you are floating halfway between consciousness and sleep very late at night/early in the morning. Then, as you lie [...]

By | May 23rd, 2018|News|Comments Off on BART & THE BEDAZZLED’s Blue Motel reviewed!

AMPED™ FEATURED ALBUM OF THE WEEK: FATOUMATA DIAWARA/FENFO

Fatoumata Diawara is a highly acclaimed singer, songwriter, guitarist and actress from Mali. Her journey began when she was born in the Ivory Coast and has included stints in her father’s dance troupe, as an actress on stage and screen, as a singer in Paris night clubs and as a show-stealing performer at a star-studded tribute concert at Carnegie Hall. All of these experiences inform her sophomore effort FENFO, an album born from tradition yet entirely modern and unique. The long-awaited follow-up to her 2011 debut full-length, FATOU, FENFO lives up to the promise of that debut… and then some. […]

By | May 18th, 2018|News|Comments Off on AMPED™ FEATURED ALBUM OF THE WEEK: FATOUMATA DIAWARA/FENFO

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH returns with AND JUSTICE FOR NONE!

  Five Finger Death Punch has unleashed “When The Season’s Change,” marking the most massive, melodic song in their repertoire yet, the new song is off the group’s album AND JUSTICE FOR NONE, due out May 18.  A brash bloodletting of airtight riffs, muscular grooves, and seismic melodies, AND JUSTICE FOR NONE’s 13 tracks see Five Finger Death Punch maintain their signature intensity, all while pushing themselves into new territory. On AND JUSTICE FOR NONE, the quintet—Ivan [...]

By | May 14th, 2018|News, Uncategorized|Comments Off on FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH returns with AND JUSTICE FOR NONE!

AMPED™ FEATURED ALBUM OF THE WEEK: SOFI TUKKER/TREEHOUSE

Although there is a dark side lurking beneath the surface, the music of Electronic duo Sofi Tukker is upbeat, fun and adventurous. While the duo’s music is aimed for the feet, there’s certainly a lot to wrap our head around. But before we get ahead of ourselves, let me introduce you to Sophie Hawley-Weld and Tucker Halpern AKA Sofi Tukker. Their name may evoke the spirit of legendary stage/screen/radio icon Sophie Tucker, but this duo’s music is world’s away from the original Sophie’s bawdy burlesque. Sofi Tukker’s two-year journey to their debut album, TREEHOUSE, has included a Grammy nomination, loads of great press and a coveted iPhone 7 commercial spot. Other artists toil away in obscurity for years, anxiously awaiting their time in the spotlight. However, Sofi Tukker’s combination of Pop smarts and luck have put them on the fast track to the front of the line. […]

By | May 11th, 2018|News|Comments Off on AMPED™ FEATURED ALBUM OF THE WEEK: SOFI TUKKER/TREEHOUSE

AMPED™ FEATURED ALBUM OF THE WEEK: RITA COOLIDGE/SAFE IN THE ARMS OF TIME

Rita Coolidge has been an important piece of Rock’s tapestry for nearly 50 years. She’s been a muse, a mover and shaker, a songwriter, a performer, a humanitarian, an artist, an author and an icon ever since she was ‘discovered’ by Delaney & Bonnie all those years ago. From backup singer to uncredited songwriter of one of Rock’s greatest songs (she co-wrote the piano coda for Derek & The Dominos’ “Layla,” yet has never received proper credit) and from solo artist to wife of Kris Kristofferson, Rita has been a part of nearly every important musical movement since her arrival on the scene in 1969. She even scored many solo hits including her warm and wonderful interpretation of Boz Scaggs’ “We’re All Alone.” When she stepped away from the solo spotlight, she formed Walela, a Native American trio with her sister Priscilla and her daughter Laura Satterfield. […]

By | May 4th, 2018|News|Comments Off on AMPED™ FEATURED ALBUM OF THE WEEK: RITA COOLIDGE/SAFE IN THE ARMS OF TIME

AMPED™ FEATURED ALBUM OF THE WEEK: TOM RUSH/VOICES

With this 2018 release, Tom Rush doesn’t hesitate to get back to business. Now 56 years into his career as a Folk and Blues legend, Tom may not be prolific but he sure hasn’t lost any of his passion. Like a comfortable pair of overalls or a warm blanket on a chilly night, Tom’s music may be comforting but that doesn’t mean that he plays it safe. On VOICES – the first album in his career consisting almost entirely of originals – Tom Rush presents an album that embraces the spirit of his early recordings with the maturity that time has graced him with. […]

By | April 27th, 2018|News|Comments Off on AMPED™ FEATURED ALBUM OF THE WEEK: TOM RUSH/VOICES

AMPED™ FEATURED ALBUM OF THE WEEK: GUS G/FEARLESS

Konstantinos Karamitroudis is one of Rock’s hardest working musicians. However, you may not know him by that name. Konstantinos has wisely chosen to operate under the much-easier-to-pronounce stage name of Gus G as he makes his way through the Hard Rock universe. Formerly a member of Ozzy Osbourne’s band and the leader of Greek Power Metal band Firewind, Gus G was inspired to play guitar by listening to the classic live album FRAMPTON COMES ALIVE and the rest, as they say, is history. […]

By | April 20th, 2018|News|Comments Off on AMPED™ FEATURED ALBUM OF THE WEEK: GUS G/FEARLESS